A woman in Texas is accusing the state’s lottery commission of withholding an $83.5 million jackpot three months after the numbers on her ticket matched the winning numbers in a drawing, according to a new lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed on May 19, says the Montgomery County woman identified as Jane Doe purchased a lottery ticket on the night of Feb. 17 for the “Lotto Texas” game using the courier service Jackpocket.
The third-party service allows Texans to purchase lottery tickets online from authorized retailers on the customer’s behalf. Lottery ticket courier companies are unregulated in Texas. They function by taking lottery ticket orders from players over the phone or online, buying the agreed-upon tickets from licensed lottery retailers and charging fees for purchasing and managing tickets.
Doe’s suit says her winning ticket was obtained on her behalf from Winners Corner, a licensed lotto retailer in Austin. The same night of her purchase, her ticket’s numbers were drawn for the jackpot prize of $83.5 million, according to the lawsuit.
One week later, the Texas Lottery announced it would be banning the unregulated lottery ticket courier services “effective immediately.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also announced the state would be investigating the win.
“The proliferation of couriers in the state has raised serious concerns that the integrity, security, honesty, and fairness of lottery games is being undermined by the continued activity of courier services,” former Executive Director Ryan Mindell said in the announcement. Mindell resigned in April amid ongoing investigations, and Sergio Rey — who is named in the lawsuit — is now serving as the interim executive director.
A November report from the Texas House found only three states — New York, New Jersey and Arkansas — regulate courier services.
The lawsuit states the commission is “not allowed to change the rules after the drawing” and is attempting to refuse to pay Doe’s winning amount through a retroactive ban.
Doe alleges she presented her ticket to the Texas Lottery Commission on March 18 and was not advised that it was invalid in any way.
“The claim is being reviewed under the Commission’s claim validation requirements and is the subject of external investigation,” a spokesperson for the commission told NBC News. “The agency does not have additional information to provide, as it does not comment on pending litigation and investigations.”
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